Trinidad reviews Jan. 3 Scenic Drive water‑main break that left parts of town under a boil‑water notice

City officials gave an informational update Jan. 13 on a major water‑main break that occurred overnight Jan. 3 along Scenic Drive, describing the response, estimated losses and next steps.

City Manager Gabe Adams said alarms from the treatment plant began shortly after 3 a.m. and that the city’s two storage tanks — roughly 400,000 gallons combined capacity and at about 85–90% before the event — were drawn down as crews sought to isolate the leak. “We started receiving our first alarm calls from the treatment plant shortly after 3AM,” Adams said. Staff estimated peak loss at about 72,000 gallons per hour as pressure dropped across higher‑elevation neighborhoods.

Public works isolated the leak and, beginning about 11 a.m., the city contracted potable‑water trucking to replenish storage. Adams said a convoy delivered roughly 170,940 gallons over three days at a preliminary cost of $18,720; a contractor’s preliminary repair estimate is about $10,000 and a final invoice is pending.

Staff issued a precautionary boil‑water notice because a significant pressure loss can allow contaminants to enter a distribution system even when tests later show no positive contamination. Plant operator Eric Sanders and consultant staff emphasized the event was compounded by highly turbid source water after a storm, which limited plant production. “In the most highest turbid moments, there’s only so much our system can take,” Sanders said.

Technical staff presented a map and photographs showing the failure location near 170 Scenic Drive at the city boundary with the Trinidad Rancheria. Engineers described the failed component as a 6‑inch PVC distribution line that fractured on the downhill shoulder and routed water onto private property. The Rancheria’s representatives confirmed they are advancing an emergency Scenic Drive stabilization project (soldier‑pile wall) in the same corridor.

Councilors pressed staff on whether an intertie with Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District would have changed the outcome. Adams said an operational intertie likely would have allowed refilling storage within a day and noted that Westhaven (a neighboring system) might offer 20,000–30,000 gallons per day on good days, but that imported water also must meet treatment and turbidity requirements before distribution.

Staff reviewed alarms and communications: the system’s alarm dialer provides channel‑based voice messages (tank level, distribution pressure, turbidity) and calls a contact list until acknowledged, but it does not keep an easily auditable call‑and‑acknowledgment log. Public works supervisor Kyle Shipman said the first alarm calls arrived around 3 a.m.; crews were able to isolate valves and stop flow by roughly 7–7:30 a.m.

Operator and consultant recommendations to reduce future risk included relatively low‑cost upgrades (estimated $50,000–$60,000) to increase backwash capacity and improve chemical feed for heavy‑turbidity source water, and longer‑term options such as additional storage, extra distribution loops, inner ties and eventual plant replacement. Eric (plant staff) said adding another backwash tank and a stronger coagulant would be the top near‑term priority.

Adams also summarized community impacts: several businesses closed temporarily during the outage at the direction of the county environmental health authority; county staff performed checks to confirm dishwashing and hot‑water availability. Residents and tribal representatives thanked crews and volunteers; Trinidad Rancheria officials said their own geotechnical work shows active slope movement in the corridor and confirmed a stabilization project is out to bid.

Council members asked staff to return with proposals and cost estimates for prioritized improvements — alarm/logging upgrades, backwash/treatment changes, options for valves or electrical power at the tank site to support automated isolation, and analysis of an intertie with Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. Adams said the city will also assess potential reimbursement or cost‑share opportunities through state emergency programs.

The presentation was informational; no formal council action was requested at the meeting.